


The Queen of Hearts

by belovedhell



Series: Superheroes J2 [3]
Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Betrayal, Bullying, Confusion, Friendship, High School, Hurt Jared Padalecki, Hurt/Comfort, Jealousy, Lies, M/M, Mutant Powers, Popularity, Secret Crush, Self Confidence Issues, Strained Relationships, Superpowers, Talking Amphibians, Unrequited
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-05
Updated: 2016-11-05
Packaged: 2018-08-29 04:22:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8475160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/belovedhell/pseuds/belovedhell
Summary: Jared and Jensen had finally started to hang out, but when a newcomer arriving and causing a rift between them. Jared would be put into a test to see where his loyalties lay. Was Super Institute his home or just a place he was bullied?





	

**Author's Note:**

> Took me two weeks to finish it, but I did it. This is longer than the first one. Let me know what you think! Cause I'm scared that this isn't good enough, even debating if I should continue this series. Is it too random? I need to know... Also, Stephen is supposed to be Gambit, duh. The card thing was obvious. Comments and Kudos are lovely and appreciated.
> 
> * Must read the prequel in order to understand it. Would make more sense.

Jared happily smiled in class, he was in a daze and daydreaming about Jensen. They had been hanging out the passed week and it was something Jared looked forward to. However, he had noticed that Jensen only hanged with him after school, never during school— in fact— Jensen didn't really acknowledge him. Sure, a simple wave and 'hey Jared' was acknowledging him, but it wasn't exactly the same.

Jared felt like an acquaintance, not a friend at all. Wasn't he more than that? Jared believed so.

He sighed. Maybe it was hard for someone like Jensen to hang out with him. Jensen was super popular and the golden hero, while Jared was super lame...

Something hit Jared behind his head— breaking his reverie— it felt moist and firm— Gross! It was a spitball. Quickly shaking his head, Jared glanced over his shoulder and narrowed his eyes to see who did that. Oh no. It was Tom. Jared could see the straw between Tom's fingers.

_Splat!_

Direct hit on Jared's forehead. This asshole!

Turning around, Jared glanced at the teacher, Mr. Beaver, who was talking about strategies and tactics. Jared took the opportunity to spit mucus on Tom. Usually Jared would ignore him and pretend he didn't feel a thing, but after hanging out with Jensen, it gave him the courage to stand up for himself. He was tired of being Tom's punching bag.

The action caught the bully by surprise as he shouted, "What the fuck!" His face got covered with gross sticky substance and it smelled like swamp. The whole class laughed by his sudden outburst.

"Mr. Welling!" Beaver exclaimed in anger. "Would you mind sharing with the class why you shrieked like a maniac and are covered in slime?"

Tom glared at Jared and then turned to the teacher. "No, sir."

"That's what I thought," he huffed. "Another outburst like that and you're off to detention. Am I clear, Mr. Welling?"

"Yes, Sir."

Jared smiled as the class snickered. He could feel like everything was finally turning around for him. Jared went back to looking at the board and began to write his assignments, unaware that Tom was glaring daggers at him.

* * *

"You should've seen me, Jello! I put slime on his face," Jared grinned. "That'll teach him not to mess with Toad—" Jared stopped as he heard footsteps.

"Who mess with the Toad?" Jensen asked as he padded towards him.

"Jensen— What are you doing here?" He had told Jensen about his volunteer work, but Jared never thought he would visit him. Just by seeing Jensen made Jared want to run and hug him. He didn't though. "Saving the world?"

"Nah. I just wanted to see what you do in here... and meet Jello." Jared talked about Jello with him, although, he failed to mention that Jello was a frog. "I've never been here before, looks kinda cool." Jensen eyed an aquarium with lizards.

"It was built a few years ago." Jared shrugged. "I saw an amphibian sign hanging outside one day so I checked it out and fell in love with this place. We get a few people ever now and then, but other than that it's pretty quiet. Really comfortable."

Jensen smiled, "I'm guessing Jello is a toad too?"

"Frog," he corrected. There was no point in lying; it made Jared happy that Jensen figured him out. "She's over here." Jared opened her terrarium and gently picked her up. "She's very sassy and jumpy. No pun intended."

"She's cute. It looks like she has puppy dog eyes." Jello croaked in excitement, causing Jensen to laugh. "Mind if I hold her?" Jensen loved animals, but he never had time to take care of a pet before, his main responsibility was to protect the citizens.

The request took Jared by surprise. "Y-Yeah. Sure." He placed her on his hand and watched as Jello nuzzled on his palm. "Wow. She likes you," he let out a chuckle. Awe. Jensen and Jello looked cute together.

Jensen petted her, feeling her smooth, moist, green skin. "So she's your best friend? What about your other one?"

"Chad? He's my human best friend. Jello is my best amphibian friend. When I have my own house she's going to live with me. Right, Jello?" Jared didn't know why he was telling everything to Jensen, it made his life sound pathetic. However, Jensen never mocked him, instead he listened to Jared.

Jello bounced off of Jensen's hand and onto Jared's shoulder.

"Whoa," Jensen said, "She's so fond of you."

Both boys laughed, too caught up on each other's presence to see the mysterious figure that was looking at them through the window.

* * *

Chad was talking with a mouthful of macaroni as he chatted with Jared. "Chad, chew first then talk!" he grumbled. Jared stared at the other side of the cafeteria where Jensen was sitting. He was with the Four Magnetics and other popular students. Jared shouldn't be gawking, but he couldn't help it. Every time Jensen laughed Jared could hear it from where he was sitting. His laugh was stunning.

Rolling his eyes, Chad finished his food and then said, "Still in love with Everloser? Get over it, Jay. Those type of heroes will never look at us. I should know because Sophia hasn't even talked to me." Of course Chad knew about Jared's crush on him. Who else would Jared tell to? Not to mention it was obvious by the expression Jared made.

Jared secretly smiled, he hadn't told Chad that he and Jensen have been hanging out. He would get jealous and probably burn Jared. Chad was a jealous son of a bitch. Not only that but Chad had a grudge against Jensen ever since the training room incident. He wouldn't tell Jared that though.

"Oh, did you hear about the new transfer student?" Chad asked. He preferred to talk about something else that wasn't about Jensen.

"No? There's really a new student? What's his power?"

"No idea. Rumor has it that he's a magician and could make cards explode." Jared tilted his head in confusion. "He's in our grade; maybe we'll have him for a class."

"What's his name?"

"Stephen," Chad answered.

Jared nodded. It was rare to get transfer students because not many people know about the Super Institute. When someone would have a superpower and couldn't control it, the dean of the school, Morgan, was the one who brought them in into the institute.

The school bell rang, meaning lunch was over. "Shit. Better get to class. I'll see you in fourth period, Chad." He had Chad for most of his six classes except for two: Leadership and Tactics ll and Physical Combat. Jared was happy that he had his best friend for classes— sadly— he also had Tom in almost all his courses. Just his luck. The worst part was he had him for Physical Combat. Ouch.

Fourth period was Ethics, boring but Chad made it worthwhile.

They departed from the cafeteria, Jared watched Jensen do the same with his friends. He sighed when Jensen didn't look his way. Jared could hear Chad in the back of his mind saying 'get over him'. But he couldn't. Jared had fallen so hard already. It was too late to get over him.

Jared groaned at the thought of Physical Combat next. He was still sore from last's week exercising session. His had good agility but his stamina was shitty. Jared would pant uncontrollably and his ribs would ache after a long run. The course was about using physical skills rather than relying on superpowers. Chad often joked that it was a way to beat up normal people without using their powers instead.

He entered the gym and saw mats scattered all over the floor. Oh no... It was wrestling this time. The point was to pin your opponent without resorting into violence. It wasn't too painful compare to fist-fighting. Now that was fucking horrible, Jared had sported a black eye for a whole week.

The coach, Mr. Rosenbaum, was in front of the gym and looking at a clip board. Once everyone was in class, he talked, "Listen up everybody! Today we're going to be wrestling, duh. I'm going to pair you up and you're going to be timed. You know the rules. For this I have an assistant who will be helping me— Jensen, come up here!"

Jared's eyes widened at the name. Jensen was there.

Jensen stood beside the coach and smiled at everyone. He stared at all the students but when his eyes stopped at Jared's, he averted his gaze. Jared frowned. His heart broke a little. Was Jensen mad at him?

"Hello everyone. I'm Jensen, also known as Everlaster. Today I'm helping my old teacher Rosenbaum over here since he's too old to catch up with everyone." The whole class giggled, even the teacher himself.

Jared smiled, Jensen was so amazing and everyone loved him.

"Good to see you still have your sense of humor, Jensen." Rosenbaum shook his head in amusement. "This guy was the top of my class and beat every world record from all of our challenges. I hope to see everybody," he waved his arm around, "do the same. Now as I call you and your partner's name, find a spot and get prepared."

Jared hoped he didn't get Tom. He was paired up with Tom before and it was Jared's worst nightmare. The fucker was the one who gave him a black eye from fist-fighting.

"...Genevieve and Alona. Misha and Osric. Tom and..." Jared scrunched his eyes and crossed his fingers as he waited for his teacher to finish, "Mark." Jared let out a sigh of relief. He was in the clear. "And finally, Jared and Stephen."

Jared's brows furrowed in confusion. He didn't know anyone named Stephen— Oh yeah! It was the new transfer student. Great... Meeting new people was a little difficult for Jared. He usually would make a fool out of himself.

He marched towards a random spot and waited for his partner to show up. Jared gulped. What if Stephen was aggressive? What if he harmed Jared?

"Hey partner," a voice from behind startled Jared from his thoughts. He accidentally yelped and backed away, clumsily.

Jared spun around and grimaced, he couldn't believe he just did that. "Hey, Stephen. I'm Jared."

"Yeah, I kinda figured since we're pair up together, _Jared_." Stephen laughed, causing Jared to tremble from embarrassment.

"Y-Yeah, uh, sorry. I should've known that—" his stammering was interrupted.

"Calm down, man. I was just teasing. Nice to meet you. I've never seen you around? Which is rare since you're a tall guy." Stephen eyed him up and down. Jared was lanky and slightly pale, behind his shaggy bangs there was a hint of hazel eyes hidden.

Jared snorted. "Have you heard of Mucus Padalecki?" Everyone in the school knew who Jared was, it was impossible not to know who he was.

Stephen paused. "Actually yeah. I heard he spits out disgusting slime and spreads warts. Gross. There's a bunch of rumors about that kid." Stephen winced at the thought, "Would hate to be him right about now."

Jared's eyes watered and he bit his lips to control himself. Stephen didn't know it was him, he didn't know any better. "What kind of rumors?" He was curious about what they said behind his back. Jared hardly heard them himself— Sure, he heard them from Tom, but never heard them with his own ears from others. Chad knew but he never told Jared shit.

"Just awful things about him. Why?" Stephen raised his eyebrow.

Jared stared at him and slowly said, "Because I'm Mucus Padalecki..."

With widened eyes, Stephen cussed, "Shit! Jared, I didn't know! I'm sorry, I—"

"Everybody get on your stance! Remember no cheating. Any superpower I see will automatically cause you a zero for today's assignment," Rosenbaum shouted and blew his whistle.

Jared got in a stance as Stephen did the same. He was feeling sad and angry altogether. He wasn't mad at Stephen in general, Jared was just pissed that he was always the laughing stock. Seriously? When would it end?

"Go!"

Stephen went at him first, Jared quickly dodged him and hooked his arm around Stephen's and hurled him toward the floor mat. Jared wasn't strong, but he wasn't weak either. He knew how to defend himself when it was necessary, right now, without using any superpowers had given Jared an advantage since Stephen couldn't use it.

"Fuck!" Stephen groaned. Obviously, he underestimated Jared.

"1...2...3... You're out! Point goes to Jared," Rosenbaum exclaimed.

Jared let go of his partner and backed away. From the corner of his eye he saw Jensen looking at him. Really looking at him. Jared's lips slightly quirked upwards. Maybe Jensen could see that Jared wasn't a weak hero everyone thought he would be.

"Okay, I deserved that," Stephen huffed, but in a playful manner. "I won't go easy on the next round." He rose up and got ready for their second round.

This time Stephen got a hold on Jared and pinned him down on his back. Jared smirked as he did something weird with his bones, cracking noises could be heard from beneath Stephen. His body was extremely flexible in such circumstances.

"What the fuck?" he questioned, then before Stephen knew it he was underneath Jared once again. He stared at Jared dumbfound and slightly annoyed— because what the fuck just happened? Did he just lose?

"You should know amphibians are really flexible creatures and could escape from predators easily." Jared held his arm firmly as Rosenbaum began to count.

"Point goes to Jared!"

Jared looked upwards and scanned the area to see where Jensen was. He frowned when he saw that Jensen wasn't even watching him, but rather talking to Alona. His eyes slanted in disappointment, he tried his best to show off for Jensen.

Stephen blinked and his eyes softened as he saw Jared staring at the assistant. "Dude, how about getting off of me now?" He was slightly uncomfortable from the closeness.

"Oh, sorry." Jared stood up and helped his partner.

"You're really strong, Jared," Stephen complimented. "I don't understand why people say horrible shit about you. You're cool."

Jared blushed. "Really? Thank you," he smiled.

"Here. I want you to show you something." A card appeared in his hand— the queen of hearts to be accurate. "This is my favorite card because it offers unconditional love and caring nature. "

Jared beamed, "That was awesome! How did you do that— Nevermine don't tell me." He grabbed the card and examined it in awe. Jared loved magic tricks. He couldn't wait until he told Chad. "Can you do some more, Stephen? Please."

Stephen glanced at Jared with an unreadable expression. No one was ever excited about magic these days. Yet, Jared was. He got excited with a simple trick and lit up like a Christmas tree.

"You like that, huh? Want to see more tricks?"

He nodded. Stephen was a magician! The rumors were true.

Stephen showed Jared a few tricks, there was one where he got a card behind his ear. Jared burst into laughter and clapped his hands. He was having a good time that he didn't even see that Jensen was calling them.

"Would you both stop playing games!" Jensen barked.

Jared sobered and grinned as he ran up to Jensen. "Hey Jensen, you should see this cool trick Stephen—"

"I don't have time for shenanigans! You both are supposed to be doing the activity! You need to take this more seriously, Jared. What kind of a hero slacks off, huh? No one!"

Jared's shoulders hunched and he hung his head in shame. It was like training day when Jensen was berating him for not hurting a villain. He hated that he disappointed Jensen again.

"Hey, man. That's enough. No need to bite his head off. We were just taking a small break," Stephen scowled.

Jared cocked his head towards Stephen in disbelief. Stephen was defending him.

Jensen growled. "You should know the rules to this school by now, Stephen. I expect you to behave and not act like a bad guy who disobeys the rules."

"Fine, Sir. By the way there's smoke coming out of your nape." He smirked as his eyes shined an eerie red. Oh no.

Jared panicked as he saw Jensen pat his nape and pulled a joker's card out of it. The card quickly burned, leaving nothing but ashes. Jensen glared at Stephen and marched to him. Stephen didn't back down as he got near him.

"Jensen," Jared called him. "Stop. He didn't mean it." Both looked like they were about to brawl.

Stephen scoffed. "I heard about you— What was it? Everloser?" Those words were Chad's. Oh god. Did they hang out together?

"Everlaster," Jensen corrected, hotly.

"Oh yeah. Heard you were the golden boy in this school. Wonder if you could take me on? You don't seem so tough." He glared directly at Jensen and shoved him, both just locked gazes with one another. Jensen wasn't stupid, he wasn't going to start a meaningless fight. He had to set a good example for the class.

Jensen gritted his teeth and turned around, leaving Jared and Stephen behind.

Jared wanted to call out to him, but he didn't. He didn't know why Jensen was angry. Jared did nothing wrong, right?

"I'm sorry, Stephen. Jensen is never like that. He must be frustrated about something," Jared defended him. They shouldn't have been fooling around and instead should have been wrestling.

"Why are you defending him, Jared? He treated you like shit! He made you feel small and pathetic. I didn't like how he was talking to you." Stephen glanced at Jensen, who went back to talking to Alona. "What an asshole?"

"He's not an asshole. Jensen is my friend, we hang out sometimes. He's just been stressed about his daily hero stuff. Too much work. Get to know him a little better and-"

"I'll pass," Stephen responded.

Jared didn't understand why Stephen couldn't give Jensen a chance.

* * *

School was over, and Jared waited in his usual spot on the bench for Jensen. Today they would be going to the park and talk to the toads. He hoped Jensen had cooled down.

He waited and waited. Jared tapped on the bench, Jensen was running late. Weird. He never did that before. Maybe he was helping someone. Jared decided to wait for another ten minutes.

Thirty minutes had passed...

Jensen never showed up. Jared's eyes lowered, disheartened. They never made plans with each other, but it didn't need to be said because they had been hanging out for a week. Jared didn't think it would be any different today. Although, he began to wonder what he and Jensen were... were they friends?

Jared thought so. Clearly, Jensen didn't feel the same way about him. They never talked during school, no one even knew that they hanged out after school. Jared felt like a dirty secret. Was Jensen ashamed to be seen with him?

After another five minutes, Jared decided to go back to his dorm. He should just call Chad and ask him if wanted to play video games with him. Also to secretly mope and cry on his shoulder.

Jensen was probably mad at him and couldn't even stand to look at Jared. Fuck.

* * *

The following week some bad news spread all over the school. Apparently, someone hacked into the Institute's database and stole important information and files about the students and their weaknesses.

Rumors began to spread as well. They said there was a traitor among them, that a hero went rogue.

Since there was a lot of heroes— of course— there would be a lot of villains too. Supposedly, it was someone from Infernal Organization: an academy for young villains. The opposite of the Super Institute.

The Four Magnetics, Morgan, and a few teachers tried to figure out who did it. But it was fruitless. There was a total of 105 students staying at the Institute; it was like finding a needle in a hay stack. The only good news was that whoever hacked into the database was still in the building. Camera didn't catch who did it because the hacker hid his face, although it did show that no one left the premises, meaning that the suspect was still with them.

"Who do you think it is?" Jared asked Chad.

"Hard to say. A lot of people are suspicious. Just know that it ain't me, bitch. This school sucks ass but it's my only home."

Jared laughed. "I know you wouldn't do it. My thought would be Tom. He's evil. Lately, he's been getting into trouble more than usual. Could he be the one going rogue?"

"Maybe," Chad mused. "He's a douchebag who constantly picks on. Not very heroic if you ask me. Speaking of him, has he done anything to you?" Chad knew what Tom was capable of. Luckily, Chad put a stop into him, having your best friend for classes had its pros. However, the two classes Chad wasn't with Jared were hard to protect him from Tom.

"Now that I think about it... Tom wasn't in class today." Jared didn't realize before.

"That is weird."

"Either way, even if he was in class I would've spit mucus on his face. I wish you could've seen his face." When Jared told Chad what he did to Tom last week, he laughed so hard that he inflamed and burned the chair. "Best thing I ever done!"

Chad patted his back and then ruffled his messy hair.

They parted once school was over. Chad would do his own thing while Jared would do the same. Besides, Chad would watch the cheerleading squad practicing, something Jared wouldn't do. It seemed kind of perverted.

Jared walked down the hall, deep in thought. "Jared!" Someone called him. Looking over his shoulder, Jared blinked as he saw Stephen jogging towards him.

"What's up, Stephen?" He and Stephen got along pretty well, they chatted in class and had even been partners on few occasions.

"I was wondering if you want to hang out with me? There's this new zoo that just open up. You could talk to the amphibians there."

"...How did you know I could talk to amphibians?" Jared questioned, raising his eyebrow. He never mentioned it to him.

Stephen shrugged. "Kinda figured. Your power is toad related so I figured you could talk to them." Oh, right. It didn't take a genius to know that. "So what do you say?"

"That... actually sounds nice. Let me put my stuff in the locker and we'll go." Jared couldn't help but feel excited. Stephen wanted to hang out with him, and he even knew about Jared's ability to talk to frogs.

Jared had nothing to do anyway. Jensen was too busy to hang out with him... at least that was what Jared kept telling himself. In reality, Jensen had been avoiding Jared.

Stephen beamed, "Great. I also know some other things we could do for fun."

* * *

They had a great time in the zoo, Stephen was a cool guy and happily listened to Jared's chattering. It turned out that they had some stuff in common. Both of their parents didn't want to do anything with them because of their strange powers. They were all alone.

Jared had a rough childhood, he never knew his real parents and was given up for adoption. He was moved around through a bunch of foster homes, no one wanted him. All the previous parents' were the same, they would take one quick look at Jared and immediately throw him out. His appearance made it harder to be accepted. Everyone saw him as a freak... not a hero.

At age fourteen, Morgan came to him and offered Jared a place— a home— in the Super Institute. Jared had been happy ever since, met his best friend Chad there and tried to be at the top of his classes. He may be a lame superhero, but hey, at least his academics rocked. Jared would never stop trying to be someone who was worthy, one day he was going to prove to everyone that he was heroic.

Hearing Stephen talked about his life made Jared understand him. He felt empathy.

"When I was young I burned my younger brother by accident. My mom hated me ever since and threw me out of the house. I was homeless for a while." Stephen sat down on a bench and began to play with a card with his fingers.

"Ouch. I'm sorry," Jared frowned as he sat beside him. "Well, now you're at a good place, Stephen. Where you're treated like a normal person and no one could judge you." He was really getting curious with the card.

"Thanks, Jared. It's nice to hear that."

"Curiosity, have you ever given someone the queen of hearts card? You seem like the type of guy to give it to someone you love." Jared had noticed that Stephen often played with that certain card half the time. It was as if he treasured it deeply.

"Nah. No one has ever been worth it. Besides, love is a weakness. I've always been told that by my friends." Stephen paused. "You never know though. If I were to give it to someone then that would mean I gave them a piece of my heart."

Jared chuckled. "How romantic. That person would be so thrilled to know that they're holding your heart, metaphorically." Also wondering just what kind of friends would even say that? Who did Stephen hang out with? Seriously?

"Yup. Hope it doesn't happen. Too much lovey dovey bullshit." It was sad to hear that.

Jared wanted to find love, wanted someone to cherish and hold. He didn't understand why Stephen would never want it...

"Yeah..." It kind of got a little awkward after that. Jared cleared his throat and then talked about something else. "Oh, did you hear about the traitor in school?" Jared asked. "Apparently, someone is going rogue. Be careful who you talk to."

Stephen grinned. "What if you're the traitor?"

"Yeah, I'm so diabolical and even hacked into the main database just so I can tell my toad friends," Jared retorted. "I'm not that stupid, dude. Besides, I'm not capable of doing such a thing. I'm the lamest hero out here." He sighed.

"Man, you need to stop doing. You are not weak. You can easily take me down in physical combat and can easily solve a problem from anything. Trust me, Jared, you are not weak. Quit underestimating yourself. I bet if you went to the dark side, hell, maybe you would be really good."

"I don't think that would ever happen," Jared declared fiercely, "I'm where I'm supposed to be."

Huffing, Stephen said, "And where would that be? Judging from last week, you got scolded by your superiors— by Jensen— and also you get bullied by assholes. The whole school laughs at you and talks shit behind your back. Tell me, Jared, do you still feel like you're supposed to be there?" There was a hint of anger lingering in his tone.

Jared shivered in fear by the sudden change of atmosphere.

"I-I know I get treated _differently,_ but it's to make me into a better person, a hero—"

"Heroes treat other heroes with respect! Fuck, even villains treat each other nicer." Stephen fumed as he got up and started pacing around the sidewalk. "If I were you I'd leave that shitty school."

"Hey!" Jared shouted, "Don't say that! Why are you defending villains? They're the ones that are trying to destroy the town and get rid of us!"

Stephen suddenly shook his head, then let out a shaky breath. "You're right, sorry. I forget sometimes that I'm a hero." He smiled, but it was off, almost forced. Jared wondered where all the anger was coming from.

Why the fuck did everyone get mad at Jared? Who was next? Chad?

"Don't worry, I forget too," Jared agreed. "I know where you're coming from... but sometimes... you have to have faith on where you'll end up. You're in good hands, Stephen."

Stephen smirked. "Yeah. I know I am."

* * *

Later that night, the alarm of the Institute went off, causing Jared to jump out of his bed. "What the?" He opened the door and saw a bunch of students running at the other side, all panicking.

"What's going on?" Jared asked himself. It was rare to get an emergency drill, especially at nighttime. Everyone must have heard—

Then Jared remembered Chad, he was a heavy sleeper, he was probably still in his dorm asleep. "Shit!" He ran at the opposite direction to get his friend. What if there was a fire or some psycho killing heroes?

On his way running he bumped into Genevieve. "Oh sorry! Didn't see you there— Genevieve, do you know what's going on?"

"I don't know! I heard that someone broke into the database and caused a fire. You have to get out of here, Jared! The school is going in a lockdown in a few minutes. Everyone is evacuating."

"I can't. I have to go get Chad." Jared passed by her and sprinted down the hall. Chad's dorm was only a few halls down and a sharp turn.

Smoke started to flow down the hall, Jared squinted his eyes so the smoke wouldn't harm him. Shit. As he kept going the smoke got darker and darker, his lungs started to burn a little from inhaling a bit. It was getting harder for Jared to breathe.

Upon seeing Chad's dorm, Jared burst inside, and just like he predicted Chad was still asleep on his bed. Jared forgot Chad didn't get bother with smoke or hot temperature. Lucky. Jared was barely holding it together.

"Chad, wake up!" Jared shook him, "Chad—" he coughed, it was too much to handle. Jared covered his mouth as he shook his best friend again. Son of a bitch! There could be a tornado out there and Chad would still be sleeping.

Chad finally stirred and sat up quickly, almost alert. "What the fuck? Jared?" he blinked. Rubbing his eyes, Chad cussed as he saw smoke everywhere. "Oh, fuck... Did I burn my room again? I didn't even have a hot dream!"

"No! The emergency alarm went off. We have to get out—" Jared coughed, "C-C'mon!" He grabbed Chad by his elbow and pulled him upwards. Jared was getting weak, he felt light headed and nauseated altogether.

"And you came back here to wake me up! Jared, you can't handle hot temperature! You're going to be boiling like a frog!" Not a good time for puns, but it was true. Hot temperature was Jared's weakness, or anything involving fire. Which was ironic since Chad's power was fire related, and Tom often burned him with his laser vision.

Jared would be frog stew if he was near fire! He needed to get out of there.

Chad— on the other hand— could handle fire, duh. "I would've been fine here, Jay. My body would have just consumed the flames."

"Couldn't leave my best friend behind," Jared tried to grin, but it came out as a grimace instead.

"Let's get out of here!" Both rushed out of the room and left the way the other students exited. They halted as a metal panel lowered halfway down the hall, it was too late... their way was blocked. "Damn it! Now what?" Not even Chad could escape, they were fireproof.

"There's an exit the other way... but the fire..." Jared winced. He could get third degree burns.

"Leave that to me. I can probably consume the flames, but the smoke is the only thing I won't be able to stop..." Chad frowned. He could extinguish the fire, yet the smoke was a big issue, Jared could pass out on him. The smoke did irritate Chad but it wasn't a problem for him.

"Okay. Let's go"

The edge of the building was engulfed in flames, Chad got rid of some, but the fire was massive. It was too much for him. They also checked room to room to make sure if no one was in there. Jared wouldn't forgive himself if someone was left behind and he could've done something.

To their relief, they found three freshmans scared in a room, holding each other while one of them created a bubble to protect themselves from the smoke. Smart. Jared helped them out of the room and continued their way to the second exit. The fire got bigger and the floor and walls got extremely hot.

As Jared saw the exit, he smiled, they could finally get out. He turned his head and from the corner of his eye... he saw Stephen running in another hall. Why was he still in the building? Did he get lost?

Jared kicked the exit door down— and to his horror— the door frame was collapsing. They had to hurry, or else there would be no exit. Jared was glad some exits didn't have metal panels, otherwise they would have been doomed.

"Go!" he ordered, pushing the freshmans first. "Chad, make sure they go with the others—"

"Please tell me you're not going back in there!" he argued. "We have to get out! Like now!" Jared didn't listen as he shoved Chad outside, then he kicked the frame, causing everything to easily tumble down. The exit was now covered with burning wood. "Jared!" was the last thing Chad said.

"Sorry Chad," Jared mused as he spun around to go after Stephen. He was still new so he probably didn't know where he was going.

Jared made sure he didn't touch the fire. His forehead was dripping with sweat and his hair was getting soaked. Jared panted, he could feel his skin boiling. He was certainly going to get a few blisters tomorrow.

He continued running, heading the same direction Stephen was going. Jared left the dorm area and was now heading to the Atrium. Why was Stephen going there?

Passing the Atrium, Jared spotted Jensen and Chris trying to contain the fire. He didn't stop at all, he kept sprinting, or else he was going to lose sight of Stephen.

Something wasn't right.

"Jared!" Jensen yelled out. He must have seen him. "Where are you going!" Jared didn't answer back as he continued following Stephen. God, he was getting tired already, his shitty stamina was catching up to him.

A door was wide open, Jared didn't waste any time and went inside. It led him to the second basement, where all the vehicles were at. Why was Stephen going to the basement— No way. No... Was Stephen the traitor?

There was no fire in the basement, it was just dark and quiet. The lights suddenly went on... then he saw Stephen— face to face— and he was holding a flash drive in his hand. Jared's eyes widened in shock.

"You're the traitor, Stephen? Why?" Jared inquired.

"Sorry, Jared. I'm no hero. I'm just a villain," Stephen leered. "I always heard rumors about this damn place in my school, and you know what? They were right. This school sucks. I was chosen to infiltrate the Institute. It was so easy. I always wondered why no one else had done it before."

Jared was speechless. He finally gained a new friend, someone to get along with... but turned out he was a villain. It all made sense, the new transfer student bullshit should have been the key. How could Jared not see it?

"Was everything that you told me a lie? Your family throwing you out? Your mom hating you? Being all alone?" Jared couldn't help but ask.

Stephen's expression morphed into sorrow. "Yeah. I had to gain someone's trust in order not to look suspicious in this school. You were—"

"The sucker who fell for it," Jared finished, gritting his teeth. "Let me guess. You read my file. You tried to have something in common with me so we could instantly be friends. You bastard!" How could he be so stupid? He was the worst hero ever. He should have seen this coming. "I'm such a dumbass!"

"I wasn't lying when I said you deserve better. Jared, you're so strong-minded! You just can't see that because this fucking Institute lowers your self-esteem. Can you really call this place your home? Come with me. The Infernal Organization will welcome you with open arms and you can be yourself without being bullied. Like you said, sometimes you have to have faith on where you'll end up."

Jared froze. What Stephen told him finally hit him? He was right. The Institute wasn't a place he could call home, he was constantly bullied by his peers. No one liked him. Jared was a laughing stock. Chad was the only good thing in that god forsaken place. Jensen was the other good thing... but not anymore. Jensen started to ignore him. It was like Jared no longer mattered to him.

Was he that easily disposable?

"I-I don't know..." Jared didn't know what to do. He was debating on it. He really was hesitating on Stephen's suggestion.

"I promise you, Jared. You will be treated with respect," Stephen stated. "Come with me." Stephen knew that Jared just needed a little push.

Jared looked directly at Stephen, then said, "I—"

"Don't go, Jared!" Jensen shouted. Jared snapped his head towards him.

Jared's eyes glistened with tears. He was so confused. All he wanted was to fit in and be happy. Stephen's offer sounded so much better. Deep down he didn't want to accept his offer— but in his mind— he so badly wanted to accept.

"Listen to me, Jared. I know you feel like you're not appreciated, but you are. You are so much better, you're better than a villain—"

"Coming from an asshole who got after him! Please!" Stephen rolled his eyes. "You're the golden boy who everyone loves to get along with, and once you do you forget all about them! Isn't that right, Jared?"

Jared clenched his fists. That was right. For a whole week Jensen avoided him. He thought he made a friendship connection with Jensen. He even thought Jensen liked _liked_ him. Jared was clearly wrong after getting rebuffed by Jensen. All week he waited for him after school, only for Jensen to never show up. It fucking hurt every time.

Stephen may have used Jared, but at least he made the effort to get to know him and not treat him like shit.

Jared stared at Stephen and mouthed 'run', he already knew what he was going to do. Stephen nodded and dashed away, right before he started running he threw a couple of cards towards Jensen and Chris.

"He's getting away!" Jensen growled. "Chris, do a shockwave!"

Chris raised his hands and was about to clap— Jared wasted no time to spit mucus at him. Chris was hit against the wall, his arms got stuck to his sides. Jensen gazed at Jared in disbelief.

Getting the opportunity, Jared took off.

"Damn it! Jared— Let me get you out, Chris—" he was interrupted.

"No time. Just go after them! I'll figure it out. Go!" Chris exclaimed, squirming between the gross slime.

Jensen nodded and followed Jared. He couldn't believe Jared was going rogue. Honestly, Jensen was a little upset with Jared, everything was going great for them until he started to hang with Stephen. Deep down Jensen was filled with jealousy, and he didn't like it. Superheroes weren't supposed to feel like that... but Jensen couldn't help it.

He tried to distant himself from Jared, hoping it would relief the bitter emotion he was feeling. Sadly, it didn't work. It made him feel miserable without talking with Jared. He missed his smile and the way he talked to his amphibian friends. Jared had become important to Jensen. He was not going to lose him now.

Jensen caught up with them. He needed to get the flash drive from Stephen because once the whole villains find out about their main weaknesses... they were done for. Jensen couldn't let that happen.

He flew and tackled Stephen down, knocking down the flash drive in the process. Jared eyed the flash drive while the others fought.

"You asshole!" Stephen snarled and threw a punch at Jensen.

Jensen growled, then began to punch back, both rolled around. "I'm going to turn you in and make sure you're locked away _forever_!" Jensen hit Stephen straight on the jaw.

Stephen's eyes glowed bright red, then said, "We'll see about that."

Cards roamed around Jensen, almost doing a funny dance before they exploded. Jensen barely took cover as he was thrown against the wall.

"Jensen!" Jared cried out. More illuminating cards continued to circle around Jensen. "Don't hurt him, Stephen! Stop!" Just like that the cards halted, losing the bright orange glow— which indicated the upcoming explosions. The cards instantly dropped to the ground.

Jared snatched the flash drive from the ground and ran to Jensen, but was stopped by Stephen. He blocked his way as Stephen said, "Give me the flash drive, Jared. We can't let Jensen have that." Stephen held out his hand for the flash drive. "C'mon. It's better this way."

Jared stared at the small little device on his palm. Everything was in there: their powers, weaknesses, background, family information. In the wrong hands, it would be chaos. Jared didn't know why he was hesitating, the answer should be obvious... and yet—

"Don't do it, Jared," Jensen groaned. He hoisted himself up and his eyes softened as he looked at Jared. "...I'm sorry," his voice cracked. "I was giving you a hard time. But you know what, Jared? I realized something... you're better than me. Better than anyone of us here at the Institute. You've proved that no matter how hard life is you don't give up, you don't turn bad. You keep going. And I admire you for that. Please don't leave. You belong here." _I want you here_ , Jensen mentally added.

Jared's eyes watered as he slightly smiled. He now knew what he wanted to do, he raised the flash drive and smashed it down the ground. Jared was still confused, but for now he believed in Jensen's words.

"No!" Stephen screamed as he saw Jared stepping on the broken flash drive. All his hard work was in vain.

Jensen's lips quirked upwards. Jared did it. Now all they had to do was capture Stephen—

"You better leave, Stephen. I can hear Morgan coming down the stairs," Jared said as he narrowed his eyes. "Consider this a warning. Go before they see you!" This was the least he could do for him. Jared didn't want Stephen to be locked away.

"What are you doing?" Jensen inquired. That was not the plan.

Jared ignored him. "Hurry up! Get out of here!"

Stephen was dumbfounded for a second, but he did as he was told. Before he left he said, "If you ever change your mind. You know where I am." Then he was gone.

Jared did a small smile. He didn't care that he was going to get in trouble. Deep down he did a good thing, he just knew it.

Morgan arrived in the scene. "What happened here? Jensen?" Chris, Beaver, and Rosenbaum were behind him. "Where's the traitor?"

Jensen eyed Jared, then back at Morgan. "We retrieved the data sir- Well, broke it. The traitor got away after he ambushed us. He made a quick escape, I couldn't find him." Jared blinked in confusion. Jensen was lying... to protect Jared.

Chris didn't correct Jensen, not even mentioning Jared almost went rogue. It wasn't necessary. Chris trusted Jensen.

"Alright. As longest the data was destroyed. We need to improve security in this school," Morgan huffed. He went on about the damage the fire had done to half the school and that they needed to do some serious fixing. "Good job, Jensen."

Jensen nodded. They retrieved the flash drive, which was the main goal... however, Jensen didn't feel like a hero tonight. No. He felt like he failed his mission. Failed to capture Stephen. He got away. Not only that, the true hero was Jared. He broke the flash drive and he tried to calm Stephen, even told him not to hurt Jensen. Jared was the real hero— sadly— Jensen received all the glory. Like always.

Jared was about to go up to Jensen, but to his dismay Jensen stepped away from him. Instead he walked towards Chris, slightly limping from the harsh impact from the explosion.

Jared felt like an outcast. Jensen was probably disappointed in him for letting Stephen go and to make it worse he lied to Morgan. Something a hero should never do. Jared lowered his head in shame. He was a pathetic hero.

Shoving his hands inside his pockets, Jared heard a shuffling sound on his right side. Frowning, Jared pulled out... a card. _The queen of hearts_. Jared held the card gently as he gazed at it. He recalled that Stephen told him that whoever he gave that card to: held a piece of his heart.

Oh Stephen...

All Jared could think about was Stephen's words: _if you ever change your mind. You know where I am._


End file.
